Traditional Sports
The Bai people live in arich basinwith the Erhai Lake to the west and the Cangshan mountain to the back, which provides excellent natural conditions for fishing and hunting. Boats became essential to the lives offishermen, thus the sport ofdragon boating came into being. This sport,which has been practised for thousands of years, is not only a life skill for fishing and water transportation, but also a popular fitness and recreational activity for the Bai people.
Most of the traditional Bai sporting activities take place on festivals, such as the March Street Festival and the Raosanling Festival. After Buddhism was introduced to Nanzhao in Tang Dynasty, the annual Guanyin Temple Fair was held at the foot of Cangshan mountain in March, which evolved into the annual “March Street” festival. To meet the needs of social, economic and cultural development, it gradually developed as a traditionally ethnic festival, integrating trade, service industries and investment cooperation. Among them, racing horse is an indispensable part of the livestock trade. The famous Dali March Street horse race is also produced with the March Street market trade. “Raosanling”[3] is a comprehensive festival include a lot ofreligious folklore, song and dance.The “Bawangbian”dance ( Rattle Stick dance) is a traditional sporting activity of the festival. At the same time, Bai traditional sports are also associated with religious rituals. In order to enhance the entertainment and enrichment ofthe rituals, a number of sporting events are included in the rituals; the swing is one ofthem.
(1) Dragon Boat Racing
There are many legends about dragon boat racing among the Bai people. It is said that during the Nanzhao period there was a giant python in the Erhai Lake, which often hurt people and animals, and sometimes blocked the outlet of the Erhai Lake with its body,causing devastating floods to the residents on the shore. A brave Bai boy, Duan Chicheng,jumped into the lake and fought with the python, eventually died with it. After his death,the Bai people honoured him as the “Dragon King of the Erhai Lake” and held a dragon boat racing on the eighth day ofthe eighth month every year to commemorate this event. In the Qing Dynasty, it was recorded in The Chorography in Yunnan that “on the 23rd day of the July, there was a dragon boat racing on the west bank ofErhai Lake”. It has been going on for centuries. In Bai folklore, the dragon boats should be decorated, with the images of yellow, green or black dragons painted on the sides of the boats, hydrangea-shaped ornaments made of coloured silk hanging from the bow and stern, various coloured flags placed around the boats, and ringing bells hung on them. During the rowing, these bells make enjoyable sound.
Dragon boat racing is usually held during the Dragon Boat Festival, the Torch Festival and the Sea-Playing Rally. The Torch Festival[4] in particular is the most formal and grandest of the Bai traditional festivals, and occupies an important place in Bai cultural life. During the Torch Festival, the villages around the Dali Erhai Lake send out dragon boats to join the competition. There are two types ofboats in the competition: small and large. For small boats, there are thirteen partitions, twenty-six rowers, one person in charge of the flag, two people at the back, two drummers and two gong ringers, making a total ofthirty-six people.In the case ofa large flower boat, there are eighteen partitions, thirty-six rowers, and twelve performers on the drums, gongs and flags, totally forty-eight people. The clothes worn by the rowers are the same with the colours ofthe flags. The drum is in the middle ofthe boat so the rowers can hear the drums, while the oars at the ends are the rudders. During the race, the teams are divided into male, female and mixed teams. Each team is told to rush to their destination in the lake at the same time, and then return, with whichever team takes less time to reach the shore first being the winner this year.
(2) Horse Racing
Every year on March Street Festival, Bai people from all over the world, as well as Tibetans and Nakhi people, come to participate in horse racing. In the past, only men could join the racing, but in 1982, a female Bai rider appeared on the racecourse, setting a precedent for women. Since thenmore female riders have been participating in the annual March Street horse racing and contributed wonderful performace.
As time went on, horse racing attracts more participants and the rules ofthe horse racing changed accordingly. Early on horse racing was divided into two steps: the preliminaries and the finals, with 3-4 riders participating in each preliminaries, grouped according to the number ofriders, and the winners ofthe preliminaries reach the finals. Thejudges assess the grades. There are three competitions: a speed race, where the winner is determined by the speed of the horse; a pace race, where the winner is judged by the evenness and steadiness ofthe horse’s pace; and an equestrian race, where the winner outperforms in the equestrian skills. The winner will be awarded a silk banner and a medal.
Since 2007 the events have developed into the traditional events of the National Games, including speed race, pace race, shooting on horseback, archery on horseback and equestrian performance, as well as the characteristic competition where competitors pull the red flag when they ride horse, which has been held at the March Street Festival. The group is scientifically divided into Ethnic and Mixed Groups, with the Ethnic Group stipulating that only indigenous horses bred in Yunnan Province may compete, one horse per person,no switching of horses (regardless of injury), no restrictions on entries, and no riders or horses in the Ethnic Group may compete in the Mixed Group,in which no restriction on the type ofhorse, a maximum oftwo horses per rider, a limit of three entries per horse are set.The riders and horses in the Mixed Group are not allowed to compete in the Ethnic Group.This makes the racing fairer and more scientific than that in the earlier days when there was no grouping of horses. The events of the two groups are slightly different, with the mixed group being more difficult and demanding the quality ofthe horses and the professionalism ofthe riders, as well as being more entertaining for the spectators.
(3) The Bawangbian Dance (Rattle Stick Dance)
As a unique combination of sport and art, the Bawangbian dance (Rattle Stick dance)is an important part of the Raosanling Festival activities. Itis also an indispensable part of the Bai folklore activities on the Benzhu temple fair, house building ceremony, marriage and folk celebrations. The prop is a bamboo pole 120cm long and 2cm in diameter, with a slot in the body where dozens of copper coins inlaid. And one end is decorated with paperflowers or other ornaments. There are thousands ofroutines in the Bawangbian dance (Rattle Stick dance), one with 4-36 beats. Accompanied by trichord, suona or bamboo flute, the dancer holds the rattle stick in the right hand and beats with the left. The rhythmic sound of the rattle stick can be heard, when it touches the ground, legs, waist, knees, hips, shoulders,elbows, palms, feet, ankles, etc. The dancer’s body moves with the beat of stick, swinging the shoulders back and forth, twisting the waist and hips from side to side.
Two people can initiate the Bawangbian dance (Rattle Stick dance), more can join in.Sometimes there are as many as 10 or more than 100 people dance together. It is meant to pray peace for the family in the four seasons throughout the the whole year, to pray a bumper harvest, to pray the prosperity of descendants, to pray everything going as you wish, to pray a happy and healthy life, to pray unity and harmony. For a long time, the Bawangbian dance (Rattle Stick dance) has become a unique traditional sports activity, and the most characteristic and popular cultural form ofthe Bai people.
(4) Swing
The swing is more popular in the Bai areas, but the Bai swing is very different from other ethnic groups. The swing is made of twelve wooden poles, six on each side. Four of them are thicker and are called ‘threshold pillars’, to show the four seasons ofthe year and the direction of east, west, north and south; the twelve wooden poles symbolize the twelve months ofthe year. The poles are wrapped in new cloth, each eight-meter long, with a yoke on top as a cross-carrier, and rattan or leather strips attached. The poles are usually set up on the first day ofthe Chinese New Year, and dismantled after the Lantern Festival. The poles must be cut in deep mountains by unmarried men, who must return home on New Year’s Eve. Young girls bring their home-made liquor and meat to greet the men on their way back. After the swing is done, a table with a incense burner and wine are prepared the Bai to pray for a good harvest and good fortune in the coming year. Afterwards, the first one,usually an aged man ofhigh status in the village,starts swing, and then a boy to show good luck and respect for the elderly. After the ceremony, the swing competition begins. There are single, double and mixed doubles. Whoever swings higher is the winner.
The swing ofthe Bai people around Lanping is different. It is hung on a large green tree or walnut tree with leather or rattan by the Lancang River. The height ofthe swing is about 20 metres and the way ofplaying is similar to that described above. The swings are usually played during the Chinese New Year and the Torch Festival.